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Ex-Governor Arrested with Gun at Airport

According to news reports, ex-Mississippi governor Haley Barbour was arrested after a loaded .38 caliber revolver was found by TSA screeners at an airport x-ray machine in Jackson, Mississippi. "This was absentmindedness and nobody’s fault but mine,” Barbour told the Associated Press.

Arsenal Attorneys regularly represent clients in similar incidents at Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport.

The Virginia code addresses the carrying of weapons in airline terminals at § 18.2-287.01:

§ 18.2-287.01. Carrying weapon in air carrier airport terminal.

It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or transport into any air carrier airport terminal in the Commonwealth any (i) gun or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind, (ii) frame, receiver, muffler, silencer, missile, projectile or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon, and (iii) any other dangerous weapon, including explosives, stun weapons as defined in § 18.2-308.1, and those weapons specified in subsection A of § 18.2-308. Any such weapon shall be subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer. A violation of this section is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any weapon possessed or transported in violation of this section shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth and disposed of as provided in § 19.2-386.28.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to any police officer, sheriff, law-enforcement agent or official, conservation police officer, conservator of the peace employed by the air carrier airport, or retired law-enforcement officer qualified pursuant to subsection C of § 18.2-308.016, nor shall the provisions of this section apply to any passenger of an airline who, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, transports a lawful firearm, weapon, or ammunition into or out of an air carrier airport terminal for the sole purposes, respectively, of (i) presenting such firearm, weapon, or ammunition to U.S. Customs agents in advance of an international flight, in order to comply with federal law, (ii) checking such firearm, weapon, or ammunition with his luggage, or (iii) retrieving such firearm, weapon, or ammunition from the baggage claim area.

Any other statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance specifically addressing the possession or transportation of weapons in any airport in the Commonwealth shall be invalid, and this section shall control.

Arsenal Attorneys is a law firm serving clients in approximately 40 states. We provide criminal defense, business services, estate planning and many other services. Our law firm is renowned for serving gun owners and the firearms industry, and particularly because of our Arsenal Gun Trust™. Our main office is located near the headquarters of the National Rifle Association and of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in the Washington, DC area. We deliver legal services conveniently for clients near and far, including military personnel overseas. We help clients exercise their rights, protect their loved ones, reduce risks, protect privacy, comply with the law, and succeed in business.